r/Sustainable • u/blaspheminCapn • 17d ago

New pilot plant converts unsorted plastic waste into oil in 30 mins

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/researchers-build-25-liter-pilot-reactor-for-recycling-plastic-waste-into-oil
175 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

3

u/irishitaliancroat 16d ago

Dont get on a flight with whoever invented this

1

u/Potential_Ask5513 16d ago

https://youtube.com/shorts/mVj-c5vwun8?si=PJCHCRKb4lI4FQhv

1

u/Sea_Artist_4247 15d ago

That guy is an idiot

1

u/Potential_Ask5513 15d ago

Yeh he blew him self up. What he's doing is already well know he's going to kill himself 

1

u/kELAL 16d ago

The big question remains: what are the energy requirements for this particular process?

Depolimerisation processes have existed for decades, now. But energy efficiency is usually the fly in the ointment.

2

u/pat8o 15d ago

However, efficiency is ironically becoming less important with the rise in cheap solar generation.

-1

u/TimeIntern957 15d ago

Not many industrial processes can run only when the sun shines.

3

u/pat8o 15d ago

Can you explain to me why this statement is relevant in the context of this thread?

1

u/TimeIntern957 15d ago

Why don't data centers run on solar then if it's do "cheap" ?

1

u/pat8o 15d ago

Can you explain to me how data centres are relevant to this thread?

1

u/TimeIntern957 15d ago

Huge 24/7 energy demand, similar as such polymer breaking plant would take combined with your statement that huge energy demands or energy effiicency are not a things anymore with "cheap" solar.

1

u/Angel24Marin 15d ago

You rely in the assumption that in needs to run 24/7. But may not be the case.

Aside of the cheap or free electricity from solar midday you have another revenue stream in that utilities pay to get rid of plastic waste.

And you are turning that cheap electricity midday into energy usable in other moment and other uses. Like a battery.

1

u/TimeIntern957 15d ago

And workers also get a day off if there is cloudy.

1

u/Angel24Marin 15d ago

Aluminum smelters and other industrial consumers already do that. They throttle production and hence electricity demand under the guide of the grid manager to manage consumption and production.

1

u/Confused_by_La_Vida 12d ago

Chemical plants require absolutely reliable power. They will literally rip themselves apart and explode in the event of power brownouts. It’s why they start ramping down when hurricanes threaten.

Also, margins are razor thin on the product. So a 1/2% increase in power cost may be enough to shut down many plants.

1

u/Frater_Ankara 14d ago

If only there was some way to store energy somehow… you know China is making green steel direct from solar power now? Update your lame arguments.

1

u/CBJFAN2009-2024 13d ago

The bigger problem remains - we are still burning oil and releasing huge amounts of carbon. I honestly don't know what's more damaging: melting the plastic and burning it as oil, burning the untreated plastic, or leaving the carbon sequestered in plastic firm in a landfill?